SCSI-9 - The Line of Nine

SCSI-9 - The Line of NineTo borrow a fine piece of Japanese Engrish, Scsi-9 are starting to sound decidedly 'one pattern'. Glossing the tracks on their 'new' album 'The Line of Nine', my immediate reaction was (sigh) 'this again'!

It's the dull stream of emotive minimal/dub/techno that grew out of the debt-ridden carcass of Force Tracks and infected and inhabited a part of the Kompakt imagination for a long time. It’s music like this that has people reaching for descriptions likening Kompakt to the 'Ikea of techno': nice, useful music that's also fairly dull and insipid (almost intentionally so). Around about the high nineties release mark, it seemed as if that was just about all Kompakt were capable of – the nurturing of its sublabels seemed to be a cry for help after the all time low of 'Here Comes Love'. They sounded like they'd given up, so I did too. But since then, the label and its artists have revived and redeemed themselves and gone on producing decent records, shifting paradigms and assembling furniture. Koze's album was good, and Matias Aguayo's was outstanding. Mikkel Metal’s was okay too. Several of the recent twelve inches have been worth a listen. You might say Kompakt are back on track.

So then, why? 'The Line of Nine' is a throwback, a regression to that time (not so long ago) of less ideas, less songwriting, less personality. In 2000, we were still learning our machines. Less was more because less was moving, less was the beginning of what was just beginning to be possible. In 2006, less is... less. Less is a bore.

The most talented new generation producers (and those who’ve grown out of their adolescence in the last) have crafted an instantly recognisable sound signature – you'd hardly mistake Alex Smoke, Isolée, Lawrence, Ada, Audion, Mathew Jonson, Lawrence or Luciano for anyone else. Love or loathe their music, they are uniquely self-generated identities, their music is their own and it shines.

'The Line of Nine' is not distinctly anything but old dishwater, but not even deep enough to drown in. It meanders through the same shopworn formulas track after track, tired line after tired line. You can still hear a shade of the sprawling atmosphere of their excellent 'music for currydoors', but barely. At least 'Senorita Tristeza' has some personality, with its 'spooky', 'folky' atmosphere - most of the other tracks not so much blend as bland into one another. Usually it takes a few years for a release to prove resilient or redundant, but here we've got something been and gone and done to death presented as a 'new release'. It's a sign of the times – one 'generation' of techno is born, grows and dies within the space of five years. There's a sample that Donnacha Costello uses in his live sets, something like: 'I try to approach each thing without following the pattern that I made with the other one.' Maxim, Anton? Listen and learn.

2 comments

I am listening to this album 8 year after its release, and I can say that the reviewer could not be more wrong with this review. Because this album was never intended for dance floor or as a proof of studio wizardry. Basically, it is pop album where every track has beginning, middle and end. You can whistle everly melody from the album. Melodies are catchy and memorable. And 8 years after, it is still not outdated.

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So Let's Go For The History Lesson…it's Been A Remarkable Road That Kompakt Veterans Anton Kubikov And Maxim Miluytenko Have Travelled Since Embarking As Moscow's Most Endearing Minimal Techno/house Act Scsi-9. From Salo To Force Tracks, Trapez , Tyrant And Beyond, These Lads Have Captivated Dj's And Dance Floors Around The World With Their Remarkable Ability To Construct An Uplifting, Emotive Mood Fuelled By The Pulse Of The Unprejudiced, Techy Beat. Dance Music Has Evolved To Astronomical Proportions Over The Past Years In Russia And Scsi-9 Manage To Keep On Top Of It; Whether It Be Hosting International Talent Or Through Their Overlooked Label Imprint Pro-Tez, Their Contributions And Dedication To The Growth Of The Minimal Scene There Is Immeasurable.View the full artist profile

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Kompakt is a record store, an international distributor, a record label and the home of the “Cologne sound”.
Launched in 1998 by Wolfgang Voigt, Jurgen Paape and Michael Mayer upon the back of pre-existing labels Profan and Auftrieb, Kompakt soon developed its signature “Cologne Sound” – a mix of minimalism, melody, and melancholy, often with an underlying pop sensibility.
Over the past seven years Kompakt’s inherent love of melody and emotion has seen the label embrace such seemingly disparate styles as ambient, minimal techno, tech-house, shuffle-tech, trance, and pop.
View the full label profile